WE WILL NEVER FORGET

I remember exactly where I was on Sept. 11, 2001. I believe most of us do.

It's a day that we all remember.

It's a day that we should never forget.

On that day, America was rocked to its very core. On that day, America stood taller, and braver, than it ever had before.

Terrorists took control of planes and slammed them into the World Trade Center, beginning their attack on America that day. I was visiting my mom in Charlotte, N.C., that weekend. Before returning to my job as sports editor at the Washington Daily News in Washington, N.C., I had breakfast. I was drinking coffee, reading the sports section and watching The Today Show when I saw that the World Trade Center was on fire.

After the second plane smashed into the tower, I knew immediately that this was no accident. I ran upstairs to get my mom, and together we watched the horror unfold.

I remember driving back to Washington that day, looking into the sky for any planes. I was angry. I was bitter. I was sad.

I still had work to do. I wrote a column that evening. Here is what I wrote the evening of Sept. 11, 2001.


Everyone affected by incident

So many tears shed, so many more to come.

America, I fear, changed drastically on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. Four planes were hijacked by terrorists. Two crashed into the World Trade Center, bringing two of the world's most famous buildings to a rubble of metal, concrete and death.

America's security has been threatened. The nation, the entire nation, was virtually paralyzed because of what transpired.

All air travel was called off. Most sporting events, from the professional level to high school level, were postponed.

My job is to cover sports. I follow sports with a passion, from the pros to college to high school. Football, baseball, basketball. I can't get enough of it.

Tonight, as I write this, sports just doesn't seem so important now.

Barry Bonds, of the San Francisco Giants, is chasing Mark McGwire's home run record of 70. Bonds has 63 and has a legitimate shot at breaking the mark. He and the Giants were scheduled to play in Houston on Tuesday but the game was postponed.

But tonight, I just don't care.

The Cleveland Indians, my favorite baseball team, are playing great and will probably win their division. They were supposed to play the Kansas City Royals Tuesday, and I was looking forward to seeing if Jim Thome would jack another home run.

But tonight, I just don't care.

My friend, Dennis Sabo, sent me a clip from my former home town newspaper so I could read up on how the Bellevue Redmen did last Friday night against archrival Clyde. I love the Redmen and follow all their games, even though I haven't covered them in over a year.

But tonight, I just don't care.

Stunned. Shocked. Horrified. Saddened. Petrified. Angered.

All these emotions are running through me as I sit at my computer. Like many of you, I've been glued to the television and radio trying to absorb as much information as I can on the horrific events that transpired on Tuesday.

The cowardly acts of terrorism have been played over and over by the media. It's been 11 hours since I started to watch the story unfold. And I'm still in disbelief.

I was sitting at my mom's house in Charlotte, drinking coffee and watching The Today Show. While reading the sports section, I glanced up to see the World Trade Center on fire. After a second plane smacked into the tower, I knew immediately that there's no way two planes just happen to run into a building.

I ran upstairs, got my mom and together we watched the unbelievable unfold. It looked like something that happens in the movies. Together, we just shook our heads. My mom just kept going, "Oh my God. Oh my God."

Just how safe are we? I get the feeling that everybody will be looking over their shoulder for some time to come.

My heart goes out to the countless victims and families affected by the heinous acts. I can only imagine what their loved ones are going through.

The word that keeps coming back to me is "why?"

After watching the television and listening to the radio for eight hours straight, I managed to tear myself away to cover the Northside-Gates County volleyball match. It was difficult not to think about what had happened earlier that day. Quite frankly, I couldn't stop thinking about it.

For me, it was nice to see the innocence of high school players trying to prove themselves, trying to win a game. It seemed worlds apart from what was happening on the outside.

I returned to the office, and the television was blaring. More images of the plane barreling into the tower. More images of the towers crumbling down. More images of people jumping from over 50 floors up. More images of mass confusion. More images of shock and stunned people.

The images just don't seem real. It makes me want to go back inside the high school gymnasium, where innocence was pure and real.

It makes you appreciate your life just a little more. It makes you care about your loved ones just a little bit more.

I think about them. But I also think about the victims, and what they'll have to deal with over the upcoming days, weeks and years.

So many tears shed, so many more to come.


Here is the front of our newspaper on Sept. 12, 2001, along with the front of a special section and the front of the sports page that day.

It's hard to imagine that 11 years have passed since that horrific day. Most of us were able to go on with our lives, but many were changed because of that day. I can't help but think of, and mourn with, those who lost loved ones or friends on that day.

I developed a deeper respect for firefighters, police and armed forces that day. And my compassion for my fellow man deepened that day as well.

Go America! God Bless!

Sept. 11 is a day I will always remember.

Sept. 11 is a day I will never forget.